The Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS),[3] commonly known as Scandinavian Airlines, is the joint flag carrier airline of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It is part of SAS Group and is headquartered in Solna, Sweden.
Including its subsidiaries SAS Link and SAS Connect, the airline operates a fleet of 133 aircraft to 130 destinations, as of July 2024.[5] The principal hub of SAS is Copenhagen Airport,[6] which connects to 106 destinations worldwide.[7] The airline's two other hubs are Stockholm Arlanda Airport with 74 destinations,[8] and Oslo Airport, with 56 destinations.[9] Additionally, there are minor hubs at Bergen Flesland Airport, Göteborg Landvetter Airport, Stavanger Airport, and Trondheim Airport.
In 2017, SAS carried 28.6 million passengers, achieving revenues of 40 billion Swedish kronor.[10] This made it the eighth-largest airline in Europe and the largest in Denmark and Sweden. The SAS fleet is composed of aircraft consisting of Airbus A319, Airbus A320, Airbus A320neo, Airbus A321LR, Airbus A330, Airbus A350 and Embraer E195 aircraft.[11] SAS also wet leases Airbus A320neo, ATR 72, and Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft.[12]
The airline was founded in 1946 as a consortium to pool the transatlantic operations of Swedish airline Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik, Norway's Det Norske Luftfartselskap and Det Danske Luftfartselskab of Denmark. The consortium was extended to cover European and domestic cooperation two years later. In 1951, all the airlines were merged to create SAS. SAS has been described as "an icon of Norwegian–Swedish–Danish cooperation".[13] In 1997, SAS co-founded Star Alliance, the first of the three major airline alliances, alongside United Airlines, Air Canada, Lufthansa and Thai Airways International.[14] On 27 June 2018, the Norwegian government announced that it had sold all its shares in SAS.[15][16]
In October 2023, as part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Scandinavian Airlines' parent company SAS Group, Air France–KLM, the Government of Denmark and two financial firms (Castlelake and Lind Invest) announced plans to invest in SAS Group, with Air France–KLM taking a 19.9% stake.[17] On 19 March 2024, the US Bankruptcy Court approved the investment and the European Commission announced that it approved the investment on 28 June 2024. As a result of the new ownership, SAS left Star Alliance on 31 August 2024, and joined the same alliance as Air France-KLM, SkyTeam, the following day.
History
Founding
The airline was founded on 1 August 1946, when Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik AB (an airline owned by the Swedish Wallenberg family), Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S, and Det Norske Luftfartselskap AS (the flag carriers of Denmark and Norway) formed a partnership to handle the combined air traffic of the three Scandinavian countries.[18] The first president of SAS was Per Norlin.[19] On 17 September 1946, operations started under the new entity and the first international service was conducted between Stockholm and New York.[20] Within a half-year, SAS set a new record for carrying the heaviest single piece of air cargo across the Atlantic on a scheduled passenger airliner, by shipping a 1,400-pound electrical panel from New York to the Sandvik
Corporate affairs
Business trends
The key trends for Scandinavian Airlines Group (which includes SAS Cargo, SAS Ground Handling, and SAS Tech), are shown below (since 2012, for years ending 31 October):[70]
Head office
Scandinavian Airlines' head office is located in the SAS Frösundavik Office Building in, Solna Municipality, Stockholm County. Between 2011 and 2013, the head office was located at Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) in Sigtuna Municipality, Sweden.[87] The SAS Cargo Group A/S head office is in Kastrup, Tårnby Municipality, Denmark.[88]
The SAS Frösundavik Office Building,
Emissions
Data for passengers, aircraft and profit from section Business Trends above.
In contrast to most other businesses and private individuals in Sweden, airlines are exempt from the Swedish carbon tax. Had SAS paid the Swedish carbon tax level of SEK1180 (EUR114) per tonne (as of 2019)[95] for all of its emissions, it would have had significant impact on recent profit levels. Since 2012, airlines are included in the EU ETS. In January 2013, the price for extra emission rights on top of the granted were approximately EUR 6.3 per tonne. In May 2017, the price was EUR 4.9 per tonne.[96]
Destinations
Joint ventures
Scandinavian Airlines has Joint venture agreements with the following airlines:
Codeshare agreements
Scandinavian Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[98]
Fleet
Current fleet
As of September 2025, Scandinavian Airlines operates an all-Airbus mainline fleet composed of the following aircraft:[112][113][114]
Additionally, SAS operates a single Boeing 737-700 equipped for MEDEVAC on behalf of the Norwegian Armed Forces and the Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Affairs. This last remaining 737 is to be retired and replaced by a similarly configured Airbus A320neo.[119]
As of August 2025, Scandinavian Airlines also has the following regional aircraft operated by its subsidiaries and other carriers under wet-lease agreements:
Cabin
SAS Business
On long-haul flights, business class, called SAS Business, is offered and features wide sleeper seats. On the A330s and A350s, seating is 1-2-1 on seats that convert into 196 – flat beds, with power sockets and a 15 in entertainment screen. On the A321LRs, business class has alternating 2-2 and 1-1 seating, all convertible to flat beds.[133]
SAS Plus
Plus is SAS' premium economy class. On the A330s, seating is 2-3-2, 2-4-2 on the A350s and 2-2 on the A321LR. The seats offered on SAS Plus are wider than those in the SAS Go section.
On European flights, SAS Plus tickets are refundable and include a meal, a double checked-in baggage allowance, and access to lounges and fast track security at the airport. The SAS Plus passengers are seated at the front of the aircraft and passengers can choose their seat at booking for free, but the seats there are otherwise the same as the SAS Go seats. The two-class system was introduced in June 2013, when business class was eliminated from intra-European flights.[134]
Services
EuroBonus
SAS's frequent-flyer program is called EuroBonus. Members earn points on all SAS flights, Widerøe routes with no SAS competition (except Public Service Operations) as well as on Star Alliance flights. Around 50 percent of SAS' total revenues are generated by EuroBonus members. By August 2015, the EuroBonus program had in excess of four million members.[135]
Hovercraft
Between 1984 and 1994, SAS operated a hovercraft service between Malmö in Sweden and Copenhagen Airport in Denmark. Travellers could check in for their flights in Malmö and the hovercraft were operated as connecting flights. The service was operated using a handful of British Hovercraft Corporation AP1-88s, which took an average journey time of 45 minutes to traverse the 17 mi route across the Øresund; within its first year of operation, hovercraft reportedly carried roughly 100,000 passengers.[136] Due to the level of demand experienced, SAS examined the prospects for introducing larger hovercraft, capable of carrying up to 200 passengers, for the service.
Accidents and incidents
Non-aviation related incidents
Controversial advertising campaign
On 10 February 2020, SAS released 2 minutes and 45 seconds long commercial on YouTube titled "What is truly Scandinavian?"[139] which tells a story about company's values and highlighting the ideas and inventions that globalism brought to Scandinavia, which caused an outrage among right-wing groups due to its perceived denigration of Scandinavian culture.[140][141][142][143]
See also
- SAS Group
- Norwegian Aviation College
- List of airports in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden
- List of the busiest airports in the Nordic countries
- Transport in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden
Bibliography
External links
- Company websites
- SAS Group corporate website
References
- SAS Scandinavian Airlines on ch-aviation.com ch-aviation.com, retrieved 21 November 2023^
- SAS ANNUAL AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT Fiscal year 2024^
- Current Airline Members www.iata.org, retrieved 2025-02-19^